I know a lot of the guys here have seen the original. I wonder what the level of interest for the remake is?

I used to get agravated about Hollywood remaking movies that I liked until at some point I realized that it was kind of silly to give much of a shit one way or the other. I didn't have to watch Russell Brand bumblefuck his way through Arthur, a bunch of jackoffs dancing their way into a new generations heart in Footloose, or a suddenly super hot Carrie.

But I think I'm kind of intrigued by this remake. Park's original is truly a masterpiece and nothing can really exceed it. But Spike Lee, for all his occasional dumbfuckery, is not an incapable director. I like the cast. And honestly, the trailer looks pretty damn good if you ask me.

It looks awful, entirely miscast. I don't buy Josh Brolin or Sharlto Copley in either of their roles. It's currently at 29% on rottentomatoes. The reviews are saying instead of an adaptation of the manga series (as Spike Lee said the movie would be) it's almost a straight remake or the original Korean movie, only shittier.

Brolin was great in No Country. Being a big fan of the original, I don't have a problem with the casting. It's the director that makes me shudder. I also wasn't aware it needed to be remade for American audiences. The only American director I would trust to remake such a dark and disturbing movie is David Fincher, because I feel like he was pretty faithful to the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

This is just a further reminder that the best films being made are from Asia or Europe, not here. We're actually remaking their films.

I'm just thrilled that most of Takashi Miike's films haven't been touched. Imagine if Eli Roth or Rob Zombie got their hands on Audition. That would be awful.

This is just a further reminder that the best films being made are from Asia or Europe, not here. We're actually remaking their films.

I just watched I Saw The Devil, another incredible Korean movie. Brilliant cinematography highlights the brutal violence and sadness of everyone in the movie.

There's just something about Korean movies that are so poetic. Another director I can see as being perfect for re-making Oldboy or even this movie: Danny Boyle. Not American but brilliant nonetheless.

And I actually like Josh Brolin but something just seems off about him in the role of Oh Dae-Su.

I Saw The Devil is one of my highest recommended films. Not just Korean, films in general. Sure you have to ignore some big plot holes and unrealistic events, but the movie is so much fun to watch it doesn't matter. The scene with the screwdriver made me LOL.

You gotta check out The Man From Nowhere, gangster film with elements of noir and incredible fight scenes. And The Chaser is pretty damn good too, based on a Korean serial killer. Just about on par with IStD. Brutal, dark, and you get an even better look at the crazy Korean police tactics.

Danny Boyle would be good. He can really capture the filth and grime of a seedy location and the characters that inhabit it.

Oldboy is a hard film to remake because it's so dark and bleak. It's not the type of movie that would ever get a green light from Hollywood on it's own.

Cerebral_DownTime wrote:Brolin was great in No Country. Being a big fan of the original, I don't have a problem with the casting. It's the director that makes me shudder. I also wasn't aware it needed to be remade for American audiences. The only American director I would trust to remake such a dark and disturbing movie is David Fincher, because I feel like he was pretty faithful to the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

This is just a further reminder that the best films being made are from Asia or Europe, not here. We're actually remaking their films.

I'm just thrilled that most of Takashi Miike's films haven't been touched. Imagine if Eli Roth or Rob Zombie got their hands on Audition. That would be awful.

You guys are right. I'd feel much better about this if Fincher or Boyle was at the helm. I don't hate Spike. I liked Inside Job and a few other things. And I do think the trailer to this looks OK.

I have no idea how Lee even had his name mentioned for the job. I just don't see how he directs and shoots his movies translating to a movie like Oldboy. It's such a hard film to market too, a lot of people will just look up the PA scenes on IMDB and immediately dismiss it as "torture porn" a term I despise because the people saying it have no fucking idea what it means. It's become a blanket term tossed out by dimwits.

Niku Daruma is a torture porn, the first 35 minutes is a actual porn, the second half is torture and all sorts of hideousness. Directed by the lovely Tamakichi Anaru ("Tama" is Japanese for "balls" and "Anaru" is "anus"). Christ, the 80's and 90's in Japanese underground horror makes Hostel and Saw look like Disney flicks. Fucking crazy shit like Mu Zan E and the Guinea Pig series..... the pseudo snuff flick style was apparently really popular.

What's it like to have time to watch movies that aren't animated over and over and over and over and over and over, etc. (Says the guy with two kids under the age of four)

I remember a time when I was up on all this stuff.

Now, I'm still fighting to get time to watch Django Unchained and I've already lined up the In-laws to babysit next month so I can go see American Hustle. It will only be the third time in the last three years I've actually gone to a movie theatre. (Skyfall and True Grit being the other two)

For me, I've seen most of these movies before the kid was born. I'm a cinemaddict, other than romantic comedies, i'll watch just about anything. Hell, I got a old microwave box full of bootleg Japanese monster movies and Mystery Science Theater 3000 VHS tapes (some I taped off TV myself).

Cerebral_DownTime wrote:For me, I've seen most of these movies before the kid was born. I'm a cinemaddict, other than romantic comedies, i'll watch just about anything. Hell, I got a old microwave box full of bootleg Japanese monster movies and Mystery Science Theater 3000 VHS tapes (some I taped off TV myself).

I still have a box of VHS tapes of "Stuff I taped off of TV" sitting in my basement. Mostly SNL, Conan O'Brien and some Comedy Central Specials. I may still have the original broadcast of Andrew Dice Clay on SNL on one of those tapes.

I am a cinemaddict in total withdrawal. I used to go to the movies almost every week and I was at the Video store at least twice a week. I can't even use my Netflix like I want to because the only TV it's hooked up to is in the living room and NOBODY wants to watch all the oddball stuff I like to watch.

It sucks.

Before my one move, I probably took about 50-60 DVDs to trade in for weight/space reasons. That and a Book CASE full of books. Not a shelves worth, an entire six foot CASE worth of books.

I don't really miss going to the theaters that much. It's just become too expensive and you have about 60/40 chance the movie is going to blow. I preview most of the movies via torrents and buy the stuff that is actually good.

Cerebral_DownTime wrote:I don't really miss going to the theaters that much. It's just become too expensive and you have about 60/40 chance the movie is going to blow. I preview most of the movies via torrents and buy the stuff that is actually good.

This was in the 90's when I'd hit the $3 matinee. Then, when I lived in Phoenix, the local theatre their would offer $5 tickets for any movie starting before noon on Sunday, so my wife and I were pretty regular with that on the weekends.

Even if the movie sucked, I was out less than $20 counting the popcorn and drink, and my wife was happy because we "Got out of the house."

I'm sad to see the final death of the video store. From a purely nostalgia point of view though. I grew up going to Video Barn, renting Godzilla movies, Nintendo and Sega games...plus other sorts of stuff that your parents told you would rot your brain.